Jacobs Ladder
Use these materials to go deeper into this message on your own, or with your small group.
Series Overview
3-Question Bible Study
Good morning Chapel family. Great to see everyone today.
We’re taking the month of August to study the life of Jacob—the son of Isaac, the man that God named “Israel,” the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. By any measure, one of the heroes of the Bible. But here’s the little-known secret: for a lot of his life, Jacob was not a good guy. His name, Jacob, literally means “he grasps the heal,” which was a Hebrew idiom meaning “he deceives.” So last week we looked at the early part of Jacob’s life, and he lived up to his name. He tricked his twin brother, Esau, out of his birthright and his parental blessing. He tricked his father, Isaac, into giving him that blessing by dressing up as his brother, and his father was too old and blind to tell the difference. So Jacob was a shifty, slippery, conniving, manipulating, deceiving, lying, self-centered guy. Jake the snake.
And because he was like that, the shalom in his family was shattered. His father was disappointed in him and his brother wanted to kill him. So Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, says, “Look—you’ve got to get out of here. Go and stay with your Uncle Laban for a while, until your brother cools down.” So Jacob takes off for Uncle Laban’s house, and that’s where we’ll pick up the story today.
We said last week that when you get to the end of Jacob’s life, he’s noticeably different than he was at the beginning of the story. He’s not perfect, but he’s a much better version of himself. So the obvious question is: what happened over those years? And the answer is: God molded him. Just like a potter takes a lump of clay and puts it on the wheel, and shapes it into something useful, God molded Jacob into a very different person.
Now, for some of us, we look at our lives and we see a very close resemblance to Jacob. We’ve developed a way of living that’s manipulative and scheming, just like him. But even if you’re not exactly like Jacob, there are things about you that are preventing the shalom in your life and in your relationships. And you need the hands of the Potter to become something better. You can make surface-level changes on your own, but to truly change at a deep level, you need to submit yourself to the Potter’s hands.
So…every week of this series, up here on the platform, you’re going to see a piece of pottery in various stages of development. Last week it was a formless lump; today it’s beginning to take shape. So I hope you can see yourself in this clay, and I hope you’re beginning to feel excited about how God wants to mold you. I love how it was expressed by the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard: “Now with God’s help, I shall become myself.”
So Jacob’s story is our story. And in this next scene, as Jacob is fleeing for his life, he has a very unexpected experience. And in that experience, he encounters something that every one of us needs to encounter if we’re going to become the people we’re meant to be.
So let’s look at the passage—Genesis 28, starting in verse 10. Let’s hear God’s Word…
10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above
it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the LORD will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.” This is the Word of the Lord.
So Jacob sets out to travel from Beersheba to Haran—it’s about 550 miles. Like going from Lincoln Park to Columbus, Ohio—probably a journey of 3-4 weeks on foot. Somewhere along the way, he stops for the night. And I want us to try to feel what he was feeling. He’s alone. He’s caused terrible drama in his family, which he probably feels guilty about. He’s going on this intimidating journey to see his Uncle Laban, whom he’s never met, and he has no idea how that will go. It’s true that he’s received incredible words of blessing—that God spoke to his mom, and that his father spoke over him. But in light of all he’s done, he’s probably wondering: Does that blessing still apply, or have I disqualified myself? This is a low moment for Jacob.
Have you had moments like that? Where you feel alone, and disoriented, and completely unsure about the future?
Jacob is feeling so low that he grabs a rock, puts it under his head as a pillow, and falls asleep. And he has an amazing dream. And we’re going to see three things about this dream: The Dream’s Message, The Dream’s Effect, and The Dream’s Fulfillment. The dream’s message, its effect, and its fulfillment.
So, first: The Dream’s Message. In the dream, he sees a ladder, or a stairway—the word can be interpreted both ways—stretching between heaven and earth, with angels going up and down the ladder. And that’s impressive enough. But the most awesome thing about this vision is what he sees at the top of the ladder. The Hebrew literally says, “And there above it, behold, the Lord himself.”
Do you notice the word “LORD” is written in all capital letters? That’s our best attempt to translate the word “Yahweh.” It’s the special name God gave himself for his covenant people to call on him. It means “I am who I am.” So it emphasizes the self-existent nature of God. He’s the only uncreated being in the universe. When there was nothing else yet in existence, God was. So of all the Hebrew names of God, Elohim and Adonai and Yahweh, Yahweh is the most awesome one. Standing above the stairway, behold: the LORD.
And the Lord speaks—verse 13: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with
you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Think about what God is saying here! He says the promise he originally made to Abraham, all the way back in Genesis 12, and then it passed down to Abraham’s son Isaac, is being passed down to him—to Jacob. Jacob, your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and one day you’re going to own this land, and eventually all the people of the earth will be blessed through your descendants. And by the way, I will never leave you—I’m going to walk with you every step of your journey.
And Jacob is thinking, “Well okay! I guess I haven’t disqualified myself! I don’t deserve this; I don’t really understand this. I know I haven’t walked in righteousness, and even when I left on this journey, I wasn’t seeking God—I was just fleeing for my life! But the Lord Yahweh is blessing me anyway.”
You know what that’s called? Grace. Grace is when you receive something good that you clearly don’t deserve. And at Jacob’s lowest moment, in this dream, he encounters grace.
If you and I are going to become the people we were meant to be, we have to encounter grace.
The singer Bono said this:
“…at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics – in physical laws – every action is met by an equal or opposite one… But I’d be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge…It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity.”
If Jacob were depending on his own religiosity, he would have been finished. God would have discarded him and found someone more qualified. But the fact is, God’s calling was by sheer grace. And it’s the same with us.
I’ve noticed that there are elements of grace in most world religions and most philosophies, but nowhere is grace more central than in biblical faith, and ultimately in Christianity. There’s a famous story about C.S. Lewis attending a British conference on comparative religions. So during the conference, there was a group of religious experts from around the world, and they were debating whether any belief was unique to the Christian faith. Someone suggested incarnation, but they realized other religions had versions of gods appearing in human form. Someone suggested resurrection, but other faiths had stories about people returning from death. So the debate went on for a while, and then C.S. Lewis walked into the room. He said, “What are you debating?” They said, “We’re trying to figure out if there’s anything truly unique about Christianity.” And without any hesitation, C.S. Lewis said, “Oh—that’s easy. It’s grace.” After some more discussion, everyone agreed.
One of the most powerful books about addiction is a book called Addiction and Grace, by Gerald May. He was a therapist who specialized in addiction, and he believed that all of us struggle with addictions—not just alcoholics and drug addicts. And after working with addicts of all kinds for decades, and realizing how powerful addictions can be, he concluded there was only thing more powerful. Listen to this: “Grace is the most powerful force in the universe. It can transcend repression, addiction, and every other internal or external power that seeks to oppress the freedom of the human heart. Grace is where our hope lies.”
If you struggle with addiction, you know the shame and self-loathing and sense of failure it can bring. You need grace.
When the Prodigal Son had wasted all his dad’s money on alcohol and prostitutes, and he came crawling back home in shame, his father ran to embrace him and killed the fatted calf to celebrate his return. That’s grace.
When the woman caught in adultery was dragged before the mob to be stoned, Jesus looked at her tenderly and said, “I don’t condemn you; go and sin no more.” That’s grace.
When an off-duty Dallas police officer named Amber Guyger walked into the apartment of a man named Botham Jean in 2018 and fatally shot him—remember that? She claimed that she thought it was her own apartment, and she assumed he was a burglar. And it went to trial, and Amber Guyger was found guilty of murder. But at the sentencing, the brother of the deceased was a guy told Amber Guyger that he forgave her, and that he loved her, and he encouraged her to give her life to Christ. He asked the judge if he could give her a hug, which the judge allowed. It was a breathtaking moment. She’s currently in jail, serving her sentence, but her life will be forever marked by that act of grace.
Grace is confusing and unsettling and disorienting. It’s exactly what Jacob needed. And it’s what we need. It’s one of the main tools God uses to mold us. If you are at a low point, and you’re feeling hopeless, would you keep your eyes open for God’s grace? He gives it to us in all kinds of ways, including through sermons.
So…how did that message of grace affect Jacob?
Let’s talk about The Dream’s Effect. So Jacob wakes up; it’s still the middle of the night. And look what he says—verse 16: “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” So the first part of Jacob’s response is Awareness. His eyes are opened to the fact that in this unlikely place—in the middle of nowhere—God is there. He sees something he hadn’t seen before.
In ancient, Celtic Christianity, they had this phrase “thin places.” And what that meant was places like monasteries and places of natural beauty where they would go to meditate and pray, and it seemed like the barrier between earth and heaven was very thin there. So they called those “thin places.” And on that night, in Jacob’s dream, the barrier was removed—because heaven and earth were connected by this stairway, and angels of God were freely moving back and forth.
When you encounter the grace of God, you become aware that God shows up in unexpected places. He’s not an impersonal machine that dispenses rewards for good behavior and punishment for bad behavior. He’s a personal God who breaks through and gives us grace when we feel like we least deserve it. Like when the Prodigal Son deserved an angry lecture, and he got a hug. Surely the Lord was in that place. Or in that courtroom, where Amber Guyger deserved to be cursed, and she was forgiven. Surely the Lord was in that place. God’s grace shows up in really unexpected places; we just have to see it and receive it.
Keep reading—verse 17: 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” 18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. I would call this next part of Jacob’s response Worship. He was afraid—which was a good thing. The Bible says The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And that’s not just an Old Testament thing. Hebrews 12:28 says let us…worship God acceptably, with reverence and awe. So Jacob is struck with awe because of what he’s just experienced. So in response, he takes that rock that he’d been sleeping on; he sets it up
like a pillar and pours oil on it—which is an act of…what? Worship. He’s not worshiping the rock; he’s setting up the rock as a physical reminder of how he encountered God in that spot.
When you encounter God’s grace, it will lead you to worship. What’s the most enduring worship song of the past 300 years? Amazing Grace. Not Amazing Justice. Not Amazing Karma. Can you imagine? Amazing Karma, how harsh the sound; I get what I deserve… A god who dishes out karma doesn’t move you to worship. You might fear a god like that, but you won’t worship him. But a God who’s awesome and powerful—Yahweh—the great I Am—who actually loves us and who meets us in the middle of nowhere when we’ve lost all hope, and shows us grace—that’s a God I can worship with all my heart.
And then then verse 20: 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the LORD will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.” So Jacob responds with awareness, and worship, and finally with Devotion. He devotes himself to God; he vows to honor God by giving God a tenth of everything God blesses him with. You know what the problem is? There’s something about the way he expresses his devotion that’s not quite right. Did you see it?
If God will be with me on my journey; if God will give me food to eat and clothes to wear and bring me back here, then I will do this and that for him. What’s the problem? His devotion is very conditional. It’s like he’s striking a bargain with God: You do this for me; I’ll do this for you. Which just shows, Jacob is still a work in progress. The Bible scholar John Walton said that at this point, “Jacob is still more scoundrel than saint.” But you know what? He’s getting there. He’s moving in the right direction.
What he should have realized is that God’s grace is all the reason we need to devote ourselves completely to him. When Isaiah sees a vision of the Lord, high and lifted up, and he experiences fear because of God’s awesomeness, but God shows him grace by forgiving his sins, how does Isaiah respond? “Here am I! Send me!” Because when we’ve received God’s grace, the logical response is to devote ourselves to his service.
The reason all those people volunteered at Chapel Kids Camp two weeks ago; the reason all those Chapel Students went and served in Kentucky; the reason we serve the homeless in Paterson every month…isn’t because we’re trying to earn God’s love; it’s because we’re already got it! Our devotion to God is a response to his grace! The reason we give to The Chapel—and by the way, that 10 percent guideline shows up throughout the Bible, so it’s a great place to start as you think about giving—but the reason is because God has given us so much more. Like Jesus said to his disciples: Freely you’ve received; now go out and freely give.
So Jacob shows us that experiencing God’s grace leads to awareness and worship and devotion…and through all of that, God molds us from who we are into who he designed us to be.
And I could end the message right there, but we would miss the best part. So let’s talk about The Dream’s Fulfillment. Did you know that Jesus referred to this event? Thousands of years later, Jesus is just beginning to teach and gather followers, and he’s introduced to a man named Nathaniel. Listen to what he says to Nathaniel—this is John 1:51… “Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Sound familiar? Of course! He’s obviously referring to Jacob’s dream, and as a Jewish man, Nathaniel knows his Scriptures, so he knows exactly what Jesus is talking about.
But why would Jesus bring that up? Well, when Jacob had the dream, with the stairway to heaven, where was God in the dream? He was at the top of the stairs. It says, “There above it stood the Lord.” So God spoke from the top of the stairs to Jacob, who was at the bottom of the stairs. And that was amazing—it was life-shaping!
But here’s what Jesus is saying: there’s something even more amazing happening now. Because in the coming of Jesus, God wrapped himself in human flesh, and he came down the stairs to us. So just like Jacob saw heaven cracked wide open, Jesus is saying to Nathaniel, “If you come to me—if you follow me—heaven will open up to you. The barrier between you and God will be removed. And you will experience the supernatural in your life.”
Now: maybe you’re thinking, “What’s the difference? Top of the stairs; bottom of the stairs; why does it matter?” Here’s why it matters: normally, when people think about religion, they assume it’s about climbing the stairs to God. God is up there, and every good thing I do; every church service I attend; every donation I give to the poor; every plastic bottle I recycle, is like taking another step toward God. And hopefully, by the end of life, I’ll make it. That’s religious thinking. And Jesus came offering not religion, but grace. See, here’s the amazing news: we can stop trying to work our way up the stairs; because God has come down the stairs to us. He lived the life that I should have lived, and on the cross he died the death that I should have died. And if I will stop trusting my ability to make it up the stairs, and instead trust in Jesus, heaven will open. And I will be connected with my Creator.
But here’s the thing: that decision to trust in the God who came down the stairs for us—that’s not just the ticket in! That’s not just how you begin a relationship with God! It’s how you live it every day. Paul said in Galatians 2:20 the life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. So every moment—literally as you sit here right now—you learn to live in awareness that Jesus is right here with you, and for every hard thing you’re going to face this week, you consciously trust in his power to flow into you and through you. That’s why he came down the ladder—so you could actually walk with him in the mess of everyday life.
And as we walk with Jesus—especially through the hard stuff—God molds us.
Two weeks ago I was called to the bedside of a precious woman. She knew her time was near. So I sat in her living room with her and her husband and her adult daughter. I always offer to read Scripture, so I said, “Do you have any favorite passages?” And she said, “Well, my favorite verse is Romans 8:28.” So I opened my Bible and read her favorite verse: 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. And she said, “All things. Even this. God is working good out of this. I see how it’s bringing my family together. I see how it’s drawing us closer to God. God is working this for good.” And I thought, “Okay. I’m the pastor here, but that’s good.” And then I read the next verse—Romans 8:29 29a For those God foreknew he also predestined to be – what’s that next word?—conformed—which means shaped, molded--into the image of his Son. And it just hit me that sitting in that living room, in her La-Z-Boy recliner, propped up by pillows, this 89-year-old woman was being conformed into the image of Christ. The Potter wasn’t done with her yet.
And he’s not done with you. Whatever is happening in your life right now; whatever happens this week; lift up your head and look for the grace of God. He came down the ladder for you, and he will meet you in the most unexpected places and shape you into the person you were meant to be